The sphinx is really interesting. There’s speculation it was there before the pyramids. I’m one of those who believe that the Sphinx came first, the pyramids later.
The first historical record we have of it is in 1400 BC - and even then, they didn’t have a clue.
Sorry to change the subject but did you hear about the destruction of a Mayan Pyramid by some real estate developers. I caught a snip on the radio yesterday and forgot to check it out when I got home. I guess I should go see what I can find. The Sphinx is the most interesting monument in Egypt to me.
I wholeheartedly agree. The geological and architectural evidence is conclusive.
Even a mainline Egyptologist (I can’t remember his name, the book is around here somewhere) points to that New Kingdom copy of an Old Kingdom record — which states that Khafre repaired the Sphinx — and the fact that the causeway to the Khafre pyramid was built to avoid the Sphinx enclosure, and attributes the Sphinx’ construction to Khufu. Right idea, but wrong date.
Another suggestion has been that Khufu’s successor — Djedefre, elder brother to Khafre — built the Sphinx, but there’s pretty much no ancient evidence for that, and Djedefre started construction of his pyramid at Abu Roash. The site is now protected, but in recent centuries the unfinished structure was carried off by the camel-load to build stuff in Cairo.